Tower packing block



Nov. 3, 1959 D. D. MALONE TOWER PACKING BLOCK Filed Aug. 17, 1955 17/617757" flo/pfias l7. Ma/oqe,

United States O 2,911,204 TOWER PACKING BLOCK Dolphus' D. Malone, Jacksonville, Fla. Application August 11, 1955, Serial No. 528,913

3 Claims. c1. 26L-95) My invention is an improved block to pack towers for combined treatment of gases and liquids by exposing a large area of falling liquid, spread very thin, to contact .with a rising current of gas. My objects include making a block with large interior surfacerelative tfo its cubic size, with arrangements for cross flow in addition to' the principal channels, capable of being interfitt'ed with other blocks in various positions to. deviate thefiow', forming a firm self-supporting structure when interfitted, requiring only slight care and very little time in laying, simple to manufacture, and of sturdy construction'no't easily damaged in handling. It will also be apparent that even considerable damage to the block can be tolerated without seriously affecting its efficiency.

My block, usually to be made of refractory ceramic material hardened by firing in a kiln, is in the general form of a series of parallel inclined slabs in a cubical edge framework of the same material and integral with the slabs,'so that the slabs define channels open at top, bottom, and sides. The slabs are free from irregularities of shape in their own plane s, thereby facilitating manufacture and decreasing the'liability o'f warping when fired or breaking when handled. I use the term parallel in an approximate sense, not excluding, for example, such departure from geometrical parallelism'as is needed for the draft for withdrawal of mold elements as customary in ceramic work. 'My block may be made by any method suitable to the material; several being k nown" in'the art. In addition to the principal channels between the slabs, there may be and preferably are one or more horizontal passages through all the slabs to break up further the courses of the liquid and gas. Changes in direction of the main currents are caused by the positioning of adjacent blocks.

The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of this invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective showing eight blocks of my invention assembled in the way a large-"number would be in packing a tower;

Fig. 2 is a larger perspective of a single block, turned 90 about a vertical axis from the'position-of Fig. 1, with an upper corner removed to show the interior; and

Fig. 3 is a central vertical section through one entire block and part of another, on a plane parallel to the sides, with the blocks just out of assembly.

In simplest terms my blockconsists of several slabs 1 of suitable material, usually ceramic of some sort, slanted 45 from the horizontal, and held in spaced parallel relation by four uprights 2 at the corners and four stringers 3 at top and bottom of-each side, forming the whole into a unitary structure. Preferably the block is cubical, except that the uprights 2 drop a short way below the bot- 2,911,204 Patented Nov. 3,

"ice

tom as legs 4 and each of the top corners is correspondingly socketed at 5 to receive the legs of the block above. For descriptive purposes and claim wording the faces of the blocks where the slanting edges of the slabs 1 are exposed are called sides 6, and those where the horizontal edges are exposed are called the front 7 at the upper ends of the slabs and the back 8 at the lower. The middle slab 1A is thicker than the others to strengthen the block. At the bottom of the front 7 and at the top of the back 8 the final transverse element 1B is not a complete slab but abar of triangular cross section with its inner face parallel .to the slab faces, and forms an edge of the cube. v u

A horizontal hole 9, in the preferred embodiment, runs through the center of the block from front to back, pierc ing each of the slabs 1 and 1A. The effect of this hole is to break up and agitate to some extent the up-flow of gas and the down-flow of liquid. It will be noted that in each of the slabs 1, as well as in the thicker slab 1A, the intersection 10 of the top of the hole 9 with the upper face of the slab' is short of the intersection 11 of the bottom of the hole with the lower face. In this way liquid dropping from point 10 strikes a little inside from point 11, giving one more splash than would occur if the drop from point 10 fell straight through to the slanting face of the next lower slab. V

It will be seen in Fig. 3 that when the upper block is set down on the lower with the legs '4 in the sockets 5 and the front 7 of the upper and back' =8 of the lower in the same vertical plane, the contacting slab edges, such as edges 12 and 13, will together make a edge, over which the liquid will fall in a thin curtain directly across the course of the rising gas current: Alternatively; the blocks in successive layers can be turned at a right angle about a vertical axis, so that the side -6 of a lower block is in the plane of the front 7 of back 8 of the upper. This will place the bottoms of the upper slabs criss-cross to the tops of the lower, still further changing the direc tion of flow, with resulting additional agitation, but at the'expense of reducing the effective channel area; The block, accordingly, permits selective stacking to' accord with the dwell of liquids and gases therein which may be desired to suit the other conditions of the Speci fie gasliquid contacting process.

Blocks specifically designed for use in Guy Lussac towers in connection with the production of sulphuric acid may be nine-inch cubes, with slabs 1 measuring one inch across the exposed diagonal faces, that is, being 0.707 inch thick, except that slab 1A is 1.414 inches thick, and with one-inch thick spaces between slabs, measured horizontally, or 0.707 inch measured perpendicularly to the major faces of the slabs. While one horizontal opening 9 is shown in each block, additional such openings may be provided as permitted by strength requirements, whereas the hole 9 may be altogether omitted at some loss of efficiency, depending upon strength requirements and manufacturing economy. In the exemplary dimensioned block, the holes '9 are slightly less than one inch in diameter, and may be, for example, fifteen-sixteenths of an inch in diameter.

The legs 4, as stated, are preferably extensions of corner posts or uprights 2, and the legs 4, uprights 2,

stringers 3 and sockets 5 are each preferably square in cross-section, and the cross-section of each may be, in the block of the above exemplary dimensions, approximately one square inch, although it will be understood that sockets 5 should be a small fraction of an inch larger,

in plan view, than the legs 4, whereby the legs fit freely into the sockets upon stacking.

Legs 4, in the block of the above exemplary dimensions, may extend one-half inch below the lower surface 14 of the block body, and sockets 5 may be either one half inch deep or'a ve rysmall fraction of an inch less The legs 4 provide a specific advantage in connection with the lowermost course of blocks in the tower in raising the blocks a short distance, in the given example, onehalf inch, above the floor of the tower. This spacing permits liquids and gases to pass freely along the floor under the lowest course of blocks.

Openings 9 provide an advantage not immediately obvious in permitting rising gases to pass from one path between a specific'pair of slabs, through one of the slabs and into the next channel, and thence on through the hole into other channels of the same block or into'the channels of blocks in front of or behind the block in question. In the absence of the hole 9, gases could escape freely from a block'only through the sides 6, and would escape only through interstices of greater or less size between blocks, depending upon the tightness of packing of the blocks, in the direction forward or backward from the block. The holes 9, accordingly, in a tower packed throughout in accord with the pattern of Fig. 1, provide an improved distribution of gas flow throughout the tower.

As suggested above, the blocks may be staggered from course to course, by rotating the blocks of the course being laid ninety degrees about the vertical axis from the next lower course. It is also possible to stack the blocks in other patterns. For example, after stacking eight blocks in accord with Fig. 1, the eight blocks which form a cube like that of Fig. 1 and which will be placed on the lower eight block cube, may be rotated ninety degrees about .the vertical axis of the eight block cubes. Other appropriate patterns will be immediately apparent.

A further advantage of the corner posts and stringers While only certain preferred embodiments of this invention have been shown and described by way of illustration, many modifications will occur to those skilled in the art and it is, therefore, desired that it be understood that it is intended in the appended claims to cover all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed as new and what it is desired to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A generally cubical tower packing block comprising a plurality of parallel slabs inclined at approximately 45 degrees to the horizontal and spaced apart to allow passage of fluid, and edge members connecting said slabs; said slabs having aligned horizontal generally cylindrical holes therethrough, the hole diameter being so related to slab thickness as to bring the point of intersection of the topof the hole with the top surface of the slab vertically above a; point; on the bottom of the hole in the same slab.

2. A tower packing assembly formed of a plurality of courses and columns of generally cubical blocks each comprising a series of face-separated slabs inclined at equal angles, a hollow square frame comprising corner posts and stringers at each side of said block mounting said slabs and integral with restricted corner portions of said slabs, said slabs having their respective upper, lower and side edges in face planes of their blocks and providing a plurality of channels open continuously transversely from side to'side and from top of each block to the front thereof and from the bottom of each block to the back thereof.

3. A tower packing assembly in accord with claim 2 wherein each block is provided with an opening extending generally horizontally from back to front through said block.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 812,667 Moore Feb. 13, 1906 1,887,704 Wilisch Nov. 15, 1932 2,098,667 Miller Nov. 9, 1937 2,651,515 Agnew et a1.. Sept. 8, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 3,466 Sweden Feb. 25, 1891 229,999 Germany Jan. 13, 1911 582,630 Great Britain Nov. 22, 1946 1,050,027 France Aug. 26, 1953 233,171 Switzerland Oct. 2, 1944 

